Deep sweet dreaming
by manaika
Summary: AU, one-shot, Shinpa/Sano. Sleepless from the absence of his lover, Nagakura Shinpachi finds sleep the rather unusual way.  No one's cheating, don't worry. Fluff


**Warnings**: AU, shounen-ai, realtionship between male x male, fluff and humor

Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuoki...even though I wish I did. *sigh*

Notes  
>I...I...I don't know. I entirely blame this shot on Kei. My dear Kei, who is always a big support and a muse at the same time. You see, she sent me a PM and showed me a picture, we talked five minutes and now I'm writing this. This shot is entirely dedicated to her. The source of the idea itself lies here and here (links show on livejournal, or PM me and I'll send them). And...ah hell, just read it. Just...just be gentle when reviewing, yes?<p>

**Deep sweet dreaming**

Shinpachi had always been a good sleeper. He slept long and deep and didn't need an hour to finally fall asleep, going to the land of dreams as soon as his head hit the pillow. As a baby, so he'd been told, he only rarely woke up when asleep and didn't keep his parents up all night. He didn't have trouble waking up and staying awake, because he always squeezed out the eight hours a day, in spite of his busy schedule.

Untill recently.

For several weeks now, Shinpachi hadn't been sleeping well. He woke up numerous times at night, couldn't fall asleep and needed more often than not a 'sleeping drink', and it was even harder to stay awake and make it through the day without at least five cups of coffee. It had been like that since that day. Since the day that his boyfriend left for his Europe tour.

It had been already a few years since he and his boyfriend, one handsome Sano, short for Harada Sanosuke, became famous and naturaly they wanted to keep that continuing. Admittedly, it wasn't easy to maintain a healthy relationship while being two concuring celebrities, but somehow, even in spite of their busy schedules and challenging careers they managed to find time for themselves. Like that time when they coincidentaly finished recording at the same time and in a rush of insanity dropped everything, hopped into a car and showed up as a married pair at the next shooting. It had been in the magazines for a month. A year later they were still happy. They had a healthy relationship of close friends, lovers and rivals, which was a good ground to build a working relationship on. It felt good to have someone waiting for you. It was nice and refreshing, like an oasis of peace in the chaos of their everyday life. Thing was, that it had been a long time since they became a pair, moved together into their small flat (later they bought a house), and shared a bed. And as it seemed, Shinpachi, who never had trouble falling asleep, had now trouble falling asleep without Sano.  
>He looked like hell, he noted dully as he regarded himself in the bathroom mirror, getting ready for his recording. He had been tossing an turning around for the entire night, untill he gave up around three o'clock and rose. Now it was shortly before eight and he had, for once, nothing to do. The recording wasn't untill the afternoon and he had surprisingly no meetings, and his manager wasn't coming 'till ten.<p>

Shinpachi wished he could sleep.

But as this sudden period of insomnia was upon him, that was out of question. He had to find something different to amuse himself with in the next three hours. He was just about to go through the songs he would be recording today, when the bell rung.

He looked up from the piano sheet and eyed the door suspiciously.

Three years showbusiness expierience taught him, never to answer a unnanounced visitor in a pajama, with disshelved hair and with dark rings underneath his eyes looking like he hadn't had sleep for more than one night. Most of the time it would end up on the front cover of 'Bravo' with the headlines 'Relationship broken?' bright and bold across it and Sano's fist in his jawline on the next morning. And while Shinpachi would be glad that Sano was back, he wouldn't want his boyfriend upset and jetlagged. It was a tiring journey, all the way from Lisabon. So he put on his housecoat and took a look through the peephole before he actually opened the door to the sleepy face of the postman.

„Express mail for Nagakura Shinpachi."  
>Shinpachi frowned in thought. The only ones who sent express mail to their private adress were their close friends from their time before they've gotten famous.<br>„I need you to sign here."  
>„Yeah, sure."<p>

Wondering who would send him something at this time of the year (with no birthdays or holidays whatsoever coming up), Shinpachi absentmindedly signed the form with his civil signature and the postman handed him the package, bid his byes and went his way. No autogramm requests, or questions about spare tickets for the next show. Shinpachi couldn't have been more grascious. Oh yeah, he liked the fame, the attention and, the spotlight and everything that came with it. But sometimes he just wasn't in the mood to be dealing with it.  
>He closed the door behind himself and set his attention to the package still in his hands. It was quite light in weight and didn't rattle when he shook it. What the hell...He took a look on the adress bar and almost dropped the packett. It was sent from the local mail in Lisabon. The render and the reciever were handwritten. Shinpachi didn't even need to look at the sender, he would have recognized that playfull, yet solid handwriting anywhere.<p>

It was from Sano!

Shinpachi tore the wrapping apart as he was overcome with a sudden surge of energy just to unpack whatever it was that made Sano think of him. As the wrapping fell apart in his hands and revealed the gift hidden inside, Shinpachi just stared.

And stared.

And then he burst out laughing.

A pillow. Sano sent him a pillow.

But what a pillow!

A huge 102x40 cm pillow with Sano, dressed in traditional japanese clothes, lusciously grinning at him printed all across of it.

This was hilarious!

Shinpachi noticed a card with a night panorama of Lisabon that has fallen from between the folds, adored with that playfull handwriting. He picked it up and proceeded to read it.

_Yo!_

_I had a little free time and went shopping for souvenirs (I know I said I would call you, but I wasn't sure if you weren't at a recording), when I stumbled across this. As you phoned last time, you mentioned you haven't been sleeping well, because you miss me (Aww~). Hope this helps. Sweet dreams!_

_Love,_  
><em>Sano =)<em>

_P.S.: Since I've been expieriencing the same troubles sleeping as you, I bought myself the one that features you in that adorable kataginu (the one where you smiling that Let-us-get-some-action smile of yours. You know: The one that makes my knees weak) :3_

Another wave of laughter hit over Shinpachi and he couldn't but cling to the pillow tightly, while tears of laughter started rolling from his eyes. He clutched his stomach, pressing the pillow tighter into himself, while he rolled on the floor.

Oh Sano!

To be honest Shinpachi had forgotten the different kinds of merchandise that were printed out of the diverse foto shoots the two of them made together, including that one in traditional japanese samurai clothing from the late Tokugawa period. Even though they weren't living in Japan, having moved away right after they finished high school, it was 'good commercial', as their managers had said. The interest for the Japanese culture was growing and (aside the fact that they both looked hotin kimonos) they would make a good bridge to it. So for a few weeks they had been wearing nothing else to photoshoots than dofukus, kataginus, hakamas and yes, kimonos.

Shinpachi, as he clung to the pillow tightly, was glad it had served a higher purpose.

He didn't even notice how he fell asleep.

ox*xo

_Several weeks later... _

Sano wanted nothing more than sleep. The last weeks on tour had been hell. He felt like he's slept a total of three hours, did nothing else than be on stage and sing and he wished for nothing else than just to snuggle up in his bed, next to his husband and sleep. But first a shower. The last time he had washed himself was two days ago, after he'd gotten off stage, a quick shower before the VIP party. He didn't need his nose to know he had an odeur worse than a skunk. He opened the door to their house and the feeling of 'home' beconed him in. Since it was already past midnight, he was sure Shinpachi would be already sleeping. He tiptoed upstairs and took a glance inside their bedroom. Indeed, there he was, a figure huddled at the right side of the bed, deep even breaths audible even to the door as Shinpachi snored softly. Against his better judgement, Sano found himself walking into the room and towards the bed.

It looked so warm and inviting...

But as he came closer, the sleepiness fell for a moment from his shoulders and he barely held back the laugh threatening to break out of his throat. There he laid, his husband, that proud macho Nagakura Shinpachi, curled around the pillow that Sano had sent him more for laughs than anything else, a thin trail of saliva dripping onto the fabric, right next to the huge grinn imprinted there.

Out cold.

Biting back the traitorous snickers, Sano sunk down onto the edge of the bed, watching Shinpachi, while basking in the warm feeling spreading in his chest.

It was really good to be home.

The bed was even more inviting than before and Sano reminded himself that he still had to wash himself. He made a move to stand up, when suddenly a hand clutched his wrist and yanked him back down. He turned to protest loudly at Shinpachi, when he noticed that his husband hadn't woken up, sensing his presence through the deep sleep. Sano desperately tried to wriggle himself out of the clutch. He had a feeling that he would fall asleep as soon as he hit the sheets and wouldn't wake if the world was ending, despite of always having been a light sleeper. But Shinpachi, fullo of resolve even asleep, yanked him down and put his strong arms around his waist in a warm embrace. A tiny part of Sano's brain tried to reason that he couldn't go to bed fully dressed and stinking, but as the warm feeling spread and his body slowly relaxed, his eyelids grew heavier and breath evened out, he decided that the shower would still be there in the morning. Hot water inclusive. And so he let his eyelids drop and sleep envelope him. The last thing he saw were Shinpachi's parted lips, a small puddle of saliva and his own face grinning at him from the soft pillow. His lips cracked a smile at the same time his mind blacked out.

They both slept long and deep.

-ox*xo-*-ox*xo- END -ox*xo-*-ox*xo-

AN

I needed an excuse why there would be any pillows with their images printed all over it, that's why I made them famous. In case you're wondering, they're singers, however it is not stated in which country, so you can all freely imagine them in your own or whichever is comfortable for you (I imagine them in Germany, but if it makes you more comfortable, you can see them in Spain, in Sweden, in Czech Republic, or Kansas city, for all I care). In my mind they won a casting show, but if you don't like that, feel free to imagine them rising to the stars any way you find attractive. It's just me with having this idea of them in my mind, since last year's DSDS.  
>Anyway. Ignore me.<br>Hope you...liked it?  
>R&amp;R!<p> 


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